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KOTA KINABALU: City police chief ACP Kasim Muda clarified that a police officer was not stabbed during a viral cable theft arrest but suffered a torn hamstring during a scuffle with suspects.

He said the incident occurred at about 6.38am on Saturday (Feb 7) when a Mobile Patrol Vehicle team on crime prevention patrol spotted two men cutting telecommunications cables along Jalan Maktab Gaya, who then fled in a rented white Toyota Hilux, triggering a high-speed chase towards Telipok.

Kasim said the driver acted aggressively by swerving into oncoming lanes and repeatedly attempting to ram the police vehicle, endangering officers and other road users, which led police to classify the case under attempted murder.

The pursuit ended near Taman Putra Perdana after the Hilux skidded onto a road divider when both rear tyres burst, believed to have been damaged after hitting a pothole, and the suspects were arrested following a brief struggle, with police seizing cut copper cables weighing about 10kg, cable-cutting equipment, towing straps, a replica pistol and 0.44 grams of suspected syabu.

The two local suspects in their 30s, one a former security personnel and the other under police supervision, tested positive for methamphetamine and are being investigated for attempted murder, cable theft, possession of an imitation firearm and drug offences, with police warning that cable theft causes serious public disruption and is often linked to drug addiction.